Facebook has launched two new reaction options to use on the social network and Messenger, in your mobile applications or on your computer. The expressions, announced this Friday (17th), are called "Care" ("care", in English), or "Fora", in the Brazilian version, with a sense of affection and attention. On Facebook, the drawing shows a yellow face hugging a heart, while on Messenger the image is represented by a pulsating purple heart. The new interactions were created to bring people together and express empathy and compassion during the quarantine of the coronavirus.
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The new Facebook reaction will be available to all users in the next week, while the Messenger option can be used as of this Friday (17). To find what's new in the messaging app, you need to press the red heart reaction, causing a balloon to indicate the availability of the new animated purple heart. The reactions can be used in publications, comments, images, videos, chats or other content within the social network.
Facebook and Messenger gain new reactions to use in the coronavirus quarantine Photo: Divulgao / Facebook
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We hope that these reactions will give people additional ways to show their support during the Covid-19 crisis. We know this is an uncertain time, and we want people to be able to show their support so that their friends and family know they are thinking about them, explained Facebook spokesman Alexandru Voica, on Twitter.
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This is not the first time that Facebook has changed the emojis of the reactions. The first one happened on Mother's Day 2016, when Flor Roxa da Gratido was added to the reactions and became a fever on the social network. The following year, the rainbow flag symbol of the LGBTQ movement emerged as an option among the reactions in celebration of the month of LGBTQ Pride.
Facebook has been working on a number of resources on its platform during the coronavirus pandemic. A new section on Covid-19 has been added to the mobile application, called Coronavirus Central Information, available in the main settings menu. There, it is possible to find updated numbers, news about cases of the disease in several countries, indications of official profiles of health organizations, as well as tips to face isolation.
New reactions are available on Facebook and Messenger Photo: Divulgao / Facebook
In the coming weeks, the platform will begin to notify users who are enjoying, reacting or commenting on publications with false information about Covid-19, and will instead offer links to official information from the World Health Organization on the disease. In addition, posts that contain misinformation about the pandemic are being removed from Facebook and Instagram.
In early April, the company also launched its own desktop Messenger program. The application was announced with the aim of bringing people together during quarantine, since chats can be used to make individual and group video calls. Conversations offer various features of the Web version, such as dark mode, use of GIFs, among others. Messenger for PC is available for Windows and macOS.
